<p>Hi,
I’m looking for some suggestions. Trying to plan a honeymoon cruise (23 and 27 year olds) to the Mediterranean in July. Choices are limited because the dates are very specific. Options are extremely different - very large ship vs very small ship. Large ships have more onboard activities and smaller ships are more intimate. Larger ships have tons of people everywhere and have to go to large ports. Smaller ships can go to smaller ports where the big ships don’t fit so they are less touristy. Bigger ships have a wider age range.</p>
<p>So these are the choices:
RCCL Allure - 5600 people
Norwegian Epic - 4288 people - biggest concern is smoking, lots of questionable reviews
Celebrity Equinox - 3145 people - concern is the age demographic - will there be younger couples
Windstar 212 people - owned by Carnival - almost more of a yacht or private cruise </p>
<p>The itineraries are similar in terms of the countries - Spain, France, and Italy.
Would love to get some input from others who have either gone on these ships or on similar cruises. What do you think of the size of the ships? It would be nice to have an option in-between - hard to choose between these extremes.</p>
<p>Thanks for your help 
</p>
<p>I’ve been on the Norwegian Epic twice, love that boat, it’s our favorite. The entertainment options are the best out there and even for a huge boat, it never seems crowded. You will find ugly reviews about any boat, some people will complain about the sheets not being perfectly ironed, anything. But, smoking? There is no smoking on NCL boats, except if they have a cigar lounge or something like that. Recheck that…if people were criticizing NCL for the smoking policies, they disallowed smoking on balconies years ago (I think around 2011), and it will not be an issue for the couple.</p>
<p>Have not gone on Windstar, always wanted to. I’ve been concerned about smoking there, since they allow it on deck and it’s a small boat. Don’t think I would have young people go on it for a honeymoon, from what I’ve read, most people will be in their fifties or sixties.</p>
<p>I love RCCL trips, though I’ve never been on the Allure. I know people think Celebrity is more upscale, but like you, unsure of the demographic. I would have a hard time picking between RCCL and NCL.</p>
<p>I love RCCL, but I would avoid Allure. Several family members went and were in awe of the ship, but said the service lacked in many areas because of how many people are on the ship. It’s the little individual things that the Oasis class lacks (i.e staff remembering your name, omelette station in the Windjammer). If you don’t mind being another face, than sure, check out Allure. But if you really care about that special individual attention, I would avoid Allure. If you are looking for young people avoid Windstar or lesser known cruise lines. I will however recommend going on Yatch Week if you want young people there. It’s a 24/7 party. The only thing is, there are fewer amenities. Yatch Week is in Ibiza, Instanbul, and all over Europe :)</p>
<p>This is on cruisecritic’s website in the description about Norwegian Epic -
Thumb’s down… for the smokiness. It’s a common complaint among Epic passengers, and you’ll hear no defense here. The sprawling casino lies squarely in the center of the mid-ship, three-story atrium comprising most dining and entertainment venues, and you can’t shake the stench if you’re in the area. I noticed air purifiers scattered about, but they do little good when the casino is crowded – which is often.</p>
<p>I completely agree that there is always something for people to complain about and having fun is really up to your attitude……. </p>
<p>Any other Epic cruisers out there? Id love to hear more. I think Allure is a bit too big too but don’t want to rule it out just yet. Windstar sounds romantic but the demographic might not fit.</p>
<p>My son and dil just returned from a Carribean cruise for their honeymoon. It was an awesome task for me because as the mil I wanted them to have fun and relax. They went on a Celebrity huge ship. Most of the cruisers were in our age group, but they said that didn’t matter. On a smaller ship it might have made a difference having most passengers so much older. Here it didn’t matter. Dil is a chef and she said that the food was excellent. </p>
<p>Because it was their honeymoon I arranged for a number of surprises…which they enjoyed.</p>
<p>My son does smoke an occasional cigar (I know I know…I’m not happy about that…but he smoked on their veranda.</p>
<p>I guess you’re right about that, I didn’t think about the casino. However, both cruises we went on the Epic, we spent plenty of time in the casino. I hate smoke as it actually makes me sick. A couple of hours in a regular casino, and I will have an upper respiratory infection for weeks. But I don’t recall it even being an issue, or barely even noticing it. Maybe there weren’t many smokers at the blackjack tables we were sitting at. Do you think they will spend much of their time in the casino? I hope that, that’s more for old farts like me, who are used to losing their money! I think they might allow cigarette smoking still on balconies, just not cigar. One cruise line I always avoid is Costa, because they apparently allow smoking everywhere, and have lots of Europeans, who smoke all the time.</p>
<p>I doubt they would be in casino much, if at all. Some of reviews said smoke was prevalent all over the ship. Busdriver11 your review gives me hope. Aside from Windstar all the options are big ships. Allure has about 1500 more passengers than Epic. I wonder how that effects wait time to get on/off in ports, etc. any thoughts? </p>
<p>At my suggestion, my coworker and his bride went on their honeymoon on a Celebrity ship (at the time they were 27 and 25). I suggested they buy in at the best price they could afford, which was a balcony cabin in the concierge category, in addition, they splurged on the all inclusive beverage package. They LOVED every second of it, and it was their very first cruise. They loved the service and special pampering they received, they loved the ship itself, and the cabin, they loved having their own balcony and not having to jockey for outdoor space, they loved the amenities, they loved the ports of call, ok, they loved it all! They were on their honeymoon, not looking to make friends or necessarily to socialize 'round the clock with others. There were other couples in their age range, but again, they were on their honeymoon! They never touched the casino, they did use the gym daily (both are fitness buffs), they went to the live music shows, and loved going to the piano bar (again, they had the all inclusive drinks package). According to my coworker, they felt “special” by the cruise line, and are actually planning their next cruise. </p>
<p>Hopefully someone else will post about the Epic. @colorado_mom went on a cruise to Europe on the Epic and really enjoyed it. I’ll see if I can find the thread she started about it. </p>
<p>As far as getting on and off the boat, the Epic was really easy and we never waited at all. I think in particular what helps, is that many of the large ships dock in the ports, and don’t tender people on and off. You are always having to wait for a tender, if you’re at a port that requires those. I wonder if the Allure is the same way. People are leaving/coming back at all hours, and they just slide through the exits pretty quickly.</p>
<p>Okay, I found colorado_mom’s thread:
<a href=“Europe trip ideas? - #166 by busdriver11 - Parent Cafe - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1241705-europe-trip-ideas-p12.html</a></p>
<p>But most of it is planning the trip. She did talk about how it went on the last page. She would be a great source of information, as she really researched it. I would love to hear from someone about the Allure too.</p>
<p>Get information - it’s all helpful. Justamom I think you described what they want perfectly </p>
<p>FYI
<a href=“http://www.cruisecritic.com/”>http://www.cruisecritic.com/</a></p>
<p>The last cruise i did had 1200 pax, i thought that was way too many. I hated running into hordes of our shipmates in the ports of call. I can’t imagine doing a cruise w over 3000 pax! </p>
<p>The cruise lines have different customer markets. Some are geared towards retirees, some for honeymooners, some for families, some for budget travelers, some for the well-heeled. The larger ships are generally cheaper to cruise because of economies of scale, and have tackier customers. </p>
<p>“The larger ships are generally cheaper to cruise because of economies of scale, and have tackier customers”</p>
<p>Hey! I resemble that remark! ;
</p>
<p>I doubt kids in their twenties are going to expect the fanciest of boats, the finest of wines, the wealthiest of clientele, and care about what other people are wearing. All of these cruise lines are just fine for the average person, who doesn’t need rose petals strewn in front of them as they walk…</p>
<p>There are very few choices that match the time frame so it’s a matter of choosing between these options. </p>
<p>Cruisecritic is a great source of information but it’s hard to get opinions on these choices that cover a bunch of cruise lines. </p>
<p>Good memory, busdriver. Yes… we LOVED our Western Med cruise on the Norwegian EPIC :)</p>
<p>We are NOT smokers and have little tolerance for it anymore now that it is not allowed in public places. We purposely avoided European lines for the reason (but they perhaps have banned smoking now too… not sure). There was smoking in the casino area, but we are not gamblers. We passed through a few times without problems, but usually our walking routes were on deck or other levels. </p>
<p>There was lots to do on board. Some things booked ahead (like Blue Man Group, ice bar) and others (like jazz lounge) were just drop-in. However our focus was on the shore excursions, so we didn’t get to take advantage of all the opportunities. </p>
<p>Travelers considering NCL and other cruise lines should investigated the shore excursions to be prepared for the expense… often around $200pp for full day including bus, tour guides, museum tickets, and fabulous lunch. It’ was pricey, but for us no regrets. Budget-wise we did have advantage of free flights bought with frequent flier miles. </p>
<p>Hint - The Cruise Critic website is terrific. You can even read “roll call” threads for past weeks of same ship/itinerary. Also you can follow the current thread for exact week of planned travel - often there are groups that form to do cheaper tours. ( If you do that, there is small risk that ship won’t wait if your return is delayed by traffic etc.) For the first day’s breakfast, we joined a prearranged group of a few dozen people from our roll call thread. </p>
<p>Hi colorado_mom. How could I forget your trip? I was so jealous! But we did get to go on a European cruise with the kids, RCCL Navigator, that we just loved. I really enjoyed cruisecritic, as we went on several excursions with people we met online. It was fun to know a little about these people and feel like we had friends already onboard the ship. We kept running into people, and even kept up with a few of them afterwards.</p>
<p>Yes, they will leave you if you don’t make it back, so we were careful to not schedule anything that was close to departure time! Very important, just in case something goes wrong. One couple that we met on cruisecritic went on an excursion that we arranged after the cruise. It was a tour of the Coliseum in Rome, with the famed Francesca, of Rick Steves trips. It was their honeymoon, and they said it was the highlight of their trip, so we were very happy they could come with us.Cruisecritic roll calls were awesome.</p>
<p>All of the Med cruises are very port intensive, which means you are using the cruise ship as a luxury mode of transportation rather than a destination in and of itself, as one does on a Caribbean cruise (where many don’t even get off the ship at ports). So almost ANY Med cruise can be a good one.</p>
<p>My wife and I took a Princess Med cruise back in 2004 and noticed that we were among the youngest on the ship (at the time we were 43 and 33). We dined with a young honeymooning couple who were a bit taken aback that there were no other very young couples. We took the same cruise in 2011 and found more young people, so who is to know?</p>
<p>The Celebrity and Windstar cruises are likely to be limited to older cruises. I think NCL is the one most likely to have a few young people, and that is the one I would recommend (although I’ve never cruises NCL). Tell them to plan to eat at the specialty restaurants as much as possible as they are well worth the small upcharge, and the NCL main dining room food is said to be mediocre.</p>
<p>A couple of tips. Tell them to try to arrange their trip with a couple of nights in a land hotel on either or both ends. Both Venice and Barcelona are great cities, and a hotel stay allows them to see these cities at night. Also, most ports can be enjoyed without an expensive ship’s tour; not only enjoyed, but enjoyed more. There is really not a lot of fun to be had climbing onto a crowded bus with a bunch of elderly people and then herded around like cattle, with mandatory stops at various trinket shops. This requires a little homework, but will allow them to enjoy their cruise more.</p>
<p>Finally, this may be terribly difficult advice to follow, but these cruises often drop dramatically in price around May. The 2011 12-night Princess Med cruise that we waited until May to book was only $799 plus tax for an inside cabin. This just requires careful monitoring and a willingness to take one of two or three cruise options, but saving several thousand dollars is worth the effort.</p>
<p>We did a night in Barcelona before our cruise and another night (same hotel) afterward Great location on Las Ramblas, near the hop-on/hop-off tour bus. Their 24 hour food bar, including wine and ice cream, was great.<a href=“Google Maps”>Google Maps;
<p>We loved Windstar, but the demographic did skew older. However, there were more than a few twenty-something couples on our cruise on the Wind Surf… I suspect there may be more in the June/July time frame – we cruised the Caribbean in March. We loved the ability to eat by ourselves when we wanted to, head into small ports and dock overnight at some, avoid long lines for tender ports, and generally just relax. The small size of the ship (ours was the largest of the 3 sailing ships - about 320 passengers) means there are no big pools or poolside activities, but there are plenty of nooks and crannies to relax and enjoy the water with a fun drink. The water sports platform is really fun. We spent a couple of nights in St. Maarten before we sailed and had a great time.</p>